Death strikes back
by cold as ice 1915
Summary: Damon loves Katherine and would do anything for her but what about dressing up to play a part he has never felt comfortable in?. AU due to the fact that it doesn't follow the books or TV series.


Any Italian is from a translation site. I realize these things are only sort of right. If you speak Italian please help me if they're wrong!

Masquerade

Diana's POV

I separated from Benno to walk down the separate staircases. I walked down to the party that was being held in my immaculate house located in the very beautiful city of Verona, Italy. My red sleeveless dress swirled around me as I met Benno at the bottom of the stairs where we reconnected. He took my gloved hand and gently pressed his lips to it. I smiled and tilted my head to acknowledge his greeting. We walked at a slow pace preparing to meet the raging crowd that was my party of suitors. As we stood in front of the big oak doors Benno gave me a sidelong glance. I met his gaze and gently applied pressure to the arm I was holding. I glanced at his eyes and he met mine.

"You'll do fine." I said gently nudging him with my hand.

"What if I forget what to say and end up disgracing you in front of the whole city? I could never live that down." He played with the silver ring I had on my right hand. I cast my gaze from the actual ring part to the gemstone that was held securely in place by four tiny prongs, each made of silver. The gemstone was one of the best I owned and so I had chosen it exactly for this party. This would be the first time Daddy met Benno and I wanted him to be accepted warmly by my family. Benno and I had been secret friends since before I can remember and he was now going to have to face my father. My family would present me as the heir to the thrown for the first time and I needed to look and play the part. It was not that I didn't want to continue my family's royal reign, but I really wanted to be with Benno. Benno was, alas, one of the servants in the place I called home. He had managed to borrow a tux and looked very stunning. He was going to pretend to be one of the many courtiers I would be forced to smile and talk to even though my thoughts would be elsewhere. Benno had combed his long, brown, curly hair back into a short ponytail. His green eyes sparkled with anticipation, and his gaze met mine with a knowing expression. They announced my name and I walked with Benno at my side and walked before the royal court, some commoners, some help, but mainly my father and mother. The both sat at the far side of the room in their strait backed chairs. My mother looked ravishing in a sea green, floor length dresses that match her eyes spot on. Her black hair was pulled back into a twisted bun, her crown upon her head. She had several diamonds around her neck laced like a spider's web. My father's clothes were a dark blue color. His eyes were a black mass with no pupils. His hair was blonde and strait as strait can be. My hair was brown and curled to the middle of my back. My eyes were a bright blue green with some flecks of gold. My face was lightly dusted with freckles, much unlike my parents plain, regular faces. Their faces stayed blank as the people presented their gifts to the king I stepped forward and curtsied Benno bowed before them. They nodded and I took up my place beside my father on his right side. Benno sat on the other side of me in the seat that would have belonged to the baby boy they were expecting. My mother had had a miscarriage and now there was an empty chair that reminds her of her failure to provide my father with a proper heir. There were still several people who had yet to present gifts so Benno and I sat silently as my father thanked them with a nod. Their presents, besides the one's that he could use, will be thrown out into the garbage before this time tomorrow and yet they all are happy to present them. I thought to myself. They were all done baring their gifts and I heard Benno sigh knowing the most challenging part was next.

"Your majesties, the suitors for one Diana Wellington. Geoffrey Harrison," a short boy come forward and bowed to my father and mother and then turned towards me.

"Buona sera Princess. Sono lieto di incontravi." He said bowing. He came forward and kissed my hand.

"Vi ringraziamo per i prossimi stasera," I replied out of politeness. I looked over to Benno to find him rolling his eyes. I looked at him and shook my head. He smiled and gave me a knowing look.

"George the third from the Rall family…" the person introduced them all each of them giving the exact same greeting, each with a hope to be the next king, and each time I, the princess, gave the same response with the same false smile. Benno's name was called and the servants all held their breath. Benno stood bowed to the King and Queen, and turned towards me.

"Princess. Vi auguro ogni felicita potete avere e spernza il vostro amore," His words flowed from his lips and gently brushed my skin as they passed me.

"Benno. Spero che lei avra un posto sl tavolo in un prossimo futuro," I said. My heart wished I could say these words were true but if our plan failed he would be executed for trying to impersonate a royal. I could not bare stand and watched as they marched him up to the top tower of the castle, tied a burlap sack over his head, and then proceed to tell him what he had done wrong, etc. and then tell him that he shall be thrown over the side of the castle and onto a bed of nails. Not only would the fall kill him, but also the nails would dig their sharpened ends into his perfect features making them a bloody blur. He would then be left to be dinner for the castle's guard dogs. I would be just as guilty and I would suffer the similar fait if it came down to it. I would have Benno, no matter what. I conveyed these thoughts through the look I gave him. He gave me a smile as he sat back down.

"Dear people of Verona. Thank you for the wonderful party. Before we begin I would like to introduce you to your next ruler. Long lives Princess Diana!" The king exclaimed excitedly. They all repeated the exclamation and then kneeled to the floor. I stood and recited my piece that I had memorized by heart.

"Thank you fair people of Italy. I promise to rule you fairly and to spread peace through these times. And let the enemy hear my words: We shall fight and we shall win. We won't take anyone telling us what to do or how to do it, because we are Italy. Long lives Italy!" I sat back down as they erupted in applause and sighed taking in the ballroom. The courtiers stood in a line waiting for me to choose which of them to dance with first. I looked them up and down and then decided on Benno. Of course my parents had different choices though. I danced with Geoffrey first. The man had two left feet and no grace at all. I turned at the end of the song to my mother who gave me a small smile. The dance lasted with each of them seemed to get longer and longer. It wasn't until Benno came and tapped Ralph on the shoulder that I really perked up.

"My savior." I said taking his hand as he led me back to the empty space that was cleared for the princess.

"They call me savior," he agreed. I gave him a look and he corrected himself sheepishly, "sometimes."

Then as my father stood I realized there would be no time for Benno and I to dance. My father thumped his long silver cane on the ground and declared the dance over for the night. I looked at him and he let loose a breath I didn't realize he was holding. Then Benno escorted me to bottom of the east staircase that led to my room.

"Farewell my princess," he said pressing his lips gingerly to my cheek. Then I leaned into him and wrapped my arms around his waits. Benno was a sporty man and his muscles were constant through out his body. He pressed his cheek on top of my head and he inhaled.

"What are you doing?" I asked never removing my head from his chest. It was too comfortable to move.

"Making a memory. You smell of strawberries, chocolate, and the perfume I gave you. You wear it?" He said removing me from him. He glanced at the clock visible through the tall window that filled the hallway with a dim blue light. Then he swiftly looked at me again and then back at the window.

"Won't you come up?" I asked looking at his face to see despair, devotion, depression, delight, dread, and depravation. He looked back at me and nodded slowly.

"It's not what you think it is, I'm taking you to see the stars. They're rather pretty," I said taking his hand and dragging him up the winding staircase.

"So you're dragging me up to your room in the middle of the night to go look at the stars. I bet they do look different, thought. You know different than what I see every night when I look out my bedroom window at your tower. They always sparkle like your eyes." He said staring off into space. I got to my room and reached for the key behind the curtain of the large moon-shaped window. I looked at Benno to find him staring at me with an eyebrow raised.

"There's no point in carrying around a key," I shrugged. I pulled him through the doorway and then noticed something odd. There were notes of mine from Benno strewn all over the floor.

"Redecorating?" he asked me taking in the floor and then the rest of the room. I walked up to my bed that should have been in the center of the west wall, but was now on the opposite side on the east wall. There in the bed was a figure of a small petite woman. There was a sheet thrown over her body though so it was impossible to see who it was. I motioned to Benno who followed me taking in the room as he walked to me. I motioned to the sheet and he took the other corner. Together we pulled the sheet back and found the person to be Rebecca, my housekeeper. I sighed in relief until I felt something drip onto my bare neck. I wiped at my neck and came back with a bloody smear. I turned to see a message written upon the ceiling.

_And so the sun shall set on her 17__th__ birthday_

_Now lies the end of your chapter too._

_Here lies the beautiful princess Diana sleeping forever in a fitful state_

_Her cheeks like a red rose, her spirit free and careless, her body doomed to walk the shadows_

_In love with a servant_

_Here lies Princess Diana._

"This is some cruel joke." Benno said, shaking Rebecca his sister to wake her up. When she didn't awaken Benno rolled her over to see several slash marks. The bedding is covered in her solidifying blood and is turning the bed into a sticky brown red color. I screamed and one of Benno's hands came up over my mouth and his other going to stroke my hair. I cried for a few seconds before realizing that there was a little number written on the back of Rebecca's hand. I reached forward and Benno touched my shoulder.

"Don't," he warned, " she won't wake up no matter what you do."

"I know but look at her hand," I pointed to the mark and he crept quietly over to take a look at it.

"It says one." He whispered. This confirmed what I thought I saw.

"There have to be more clues," I said taking a more careful approach to looking at the room. I saw nothing in the way the letters were scattered so I moved onto the framing of the bed. There were several slash marks and then there were several fingerprints of blood close to the bed. There were no other clues in here so I pulled on Benno's hand. He turned away from his sister and followed behind me. I walked down the hallway but something drew me to my mother's reading chamber. I walked down the tower stairs, and through the small courtyard that led to her chamber. I almost got to the door and was passing a tall oak tree when something dropped from it. It sung around twisting on the rope it was held up with. I noticed the face and quickly looked away. It was Justine. She was my servant and she was very much involved in our plot. I looked at her hand and saw a number 2.

"She's the second one." I mumble taking my hidden knife from my hip. I took the rope in my hand and started cutting away at it. Her body fell free and I caught her with a grunt. Benno took her from me and gently lowered her to the ground. Her head fell to the side and lay still. I saw her skirts up around her waist so I bent down to arrange them in a more respectful position. I stood up and looked at Benno's face. His face held no more emotion than a corpse's. I took my hand and brought it to be interlocked with Benno's. I took his hand and traced small circles on the back of it with my thumb. I took some comfort in this. I continued to walk towards her reading chamber and discovered several more people each had the next number: 3, 4, 5, and finally 6. All of them were servants but as I got closer they were not the only one's being killed. I saw several people lying together like they were interrupted in the middle of saying something to each other. This was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen.

"Non posso credere che questo succede." He said taking his hand and running it through his hair. I took his other hand in mine and gave it a squeeze.

"Non posso crederlo sia." I nodded and moved towards the door out of the chamber, Moviamo su alla sala da ballo."

"I think we should get out of here,"

"I can't. If something is happening my parents should know."

"I know, you're right. I just don't want anything to happen to you. I would hate myself if I let you get hurt.

"Me getting hurt would have nothing to do with you, unless you run me through. Which is highly unlikely, right?"

"Absolutely. I would never do that."

"You're my best friend in the whole world." I said. I had done some stupid stuff and dragged him into it but he never complained when he was blamed unfairly. And lately he would not let us wrestle, when no one was watching, as we once did, saying it was not lady like and proper. This was not the Benno I knew. This one looked at me and saw something that had to be protected and was incapable of defending itself. This was one of the things that made me not like any of the suitors.

"You can stop the charade anytime now. We're not being watched." I continued walking until we got to the door of the main hall. I stopped and looked to see the two announcers sleeping soundly. I looked at their uniforms and noticed the crimson stain within the purple crest. They were both bleeding from a stab wound. I took one of their hands in mine and looked at the purple ink telling me what I already knew to be the truth. They were numbers 2,980 and 2,991. This was almost too much for me to think of. Killing that many people in a small amount of time was unreal. I knew my parents were in trouble before I had the door open. They sat in their chairs with their eyes open, unblinking. Their breathing was stopped and their hearts beat no longer. Their hands said 2, 998 and 2,997. I took my mother's hand and pressed my fingers into her wrist. Then I took one look around the room that was once so full of life and now full of death. My father was clutching something in his hand. I took my fingers and gently pried off his fingers from around the small object. It was a crumpled piece of paper. I undid the ball and started to read the words. I wordlessly turned and gave it to Benno.

"This is one of history's greatest murders of all time. 3,000 people killed all by my hand. And now to get what you two truly deserve. I hide in the shadows, waiting for you to read this out loud. By the time you get to the bottom you will get what is coming to you. Here lays Princess Diana and her false lord, Benno." He read and then slowly lifted his eyes to meet mine. This could be our end. It could easily be us.

" I never meant to hurt you. Even when I took a necklace from that merchant you refused to let me accept the blame. You took no supper for a week. That was one of the bravest and stupidest things I think you've done."

"I was pretty stupid. You would have gotten off easily but I just couldn't let you have it, you know the blame."

"You should have let me. I could…" I stopped as a knife slipped through my ribs through the corset and the dress material. I opened my mouth and saw the world start spinning beneath me. I sunk to the floor but something caught me keeping me from hitting my head on the floor.

"Don't. No. Why?" I heard Benno's voice say before I slipped into a deep dark hole.


End file.
